By analyzing an extraordinary amount of multiparameter data, INGV researchers have identified possible precursory signals of the summer 2019 explosive paroxysms up to about a month before the event
Through the in-depth analysis of the data from the paroxysmal eruptions of 2019, the researchers established the hypothesis that the paroxysms of the Stromboli volcano manifest a phase of 'agitation' which can originate up to a few weeks before the event and which determines a perturbation of the magmatic system. These are the conclusions reached by the scientists of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in the study “Uncovering the eruptive patterns of the 2019 double paroxysm eruption crisis of Stromboli volcano” just published in 'Nature Communications' magazine.
Starting from the assumption that in 2019 the Stromboli volcano experienced one of the most violent eruptive crises of the last hundred years, the study - the result of the multidisciplinary collaboration of the INGV researchers of the Sections of Rome 1, Pisa and the Etneo Observatory of Catania - he studied the various aspects of Stromboli's eruptive activity in depth, with the aim of understanding the dynamics of paroxysms and identifying potential precursor signals.
"First of all, we analyzed the data on the deposits generated by the two paroxysms of 2019 thanks to the surveys carried out on the ground" comments Daniele Andronico, INGV volcanologist and first author of the research, which continues “The study focused on the dispersion of volcanic products and their textural and chemical characteristics. Through numerical simulations, we then modeled the dispersion of explosive products and estimated the times of fall in some critical areas of the island, such as, for example, the ferry dock and the helicopter runway, since they were particularly busy during the summer”.
"The integrated analysis of the video surveillance data made it possible to obtain the physical parameters of the two paroxysms, such as the extension and propagation speed of the eruptive cloud, as well as to describe the eruptive dynamics in detail", explains Elisabetta Del Bello, volcanologist at INGV and second author of the research. “Furthermore, through the images of the video surveillance cameras, the pre-eruptive conditions were parameterized, revealing that the intensity and frequency of the normal explosive activity on Stromboli underwent a sudden change about a month before the first paroxysm, coinciding with the variation of the geochemical and geophysical parameters recorded starting from the same period. This observation indicates that the 'perturbation' of the magmatic system which then culminated in the explosive events of July-August 2019, began weeks before the paroxysmal events", concludes Elisabetta Del Bello.
“Even during the paroxysmal events of 2003 and 2007, similar periods of perturbation in ordinary activity and anomalies of geochemical and geophysical signals were recorded before the occurrence of the events themselves, thus opening up interesting scenarios for the identification of precursors common to all Stromboli paroxysms”, says Daniele Andronico again, who concludes "We believe that through the development of new systems for observing and monitoring Stromboli's eruptive activity, it is also possible to offer the information necessary for territorial planning and population management in the event of a crisis, especially during the high season tourist”.
"Research", reports Piergiorgio Scarlato, INGV volcanologist, "it was financed by the MUR as part of the PRIN 2017 project financing program of significant national interest, and as part of the INGV 'UNO' departmental strategic project, concerning the eruptive activity of the Stromboli volcano".
The research has an essentially scientific value and is currently devoid of immediate implications regarding the aspects of civil protection.
Link to the article
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Stromboli. The paroxysmal eruptions of 2019 and the identification of possible precursory signals
Analyzing an extraordinary amount of multiparametric data, INGV's researchers identified possible precursory signals of the explosive paroxysms of summer 2019 up to about a month before the event
Through an in-depth analysis of the data of the paroxysmal eruptions of 2019, the researchers have rooted the hypothesis that the paroxysms of the Stromboli volcano manifest a phase of 'destabilization' that can originate up to a few weeks before the event and that determines a perturbation of the magmatic system. These are the conclusions reached by the scientists of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in the study “Uncovering the eruptive patterns of the 2019 double paroxysm eruption crisis of Stromboli volcano”, just published in the journal 'Nature Communications'.
Starting from the fact that in 2019 the Stromboli volcano experienced one of the most violent eruptive crisis of the last hundred years, the research- resulting from the multidisciplinary collaboration of the INGV's researchers from the Sections of Rome 1, Pisa and Catania's Etna Observatory - studied the various aspects of the eruptive activity of Stromboli, with the aim of understanding the dynamics of paroxysms and identifying potential precursory signals.
“First of all, we analyzed the data of the tephra deposits generated by the two paroxysms of 2019 thanks to the surveys carried out in the field” comments Daniele Andronico, INGV's volcanologist and first author of the research, who continues “The study focused on the dispersal of volcanic products and on their textural and chemical characteristics. Through numerical simulations, we modeled the dispersal of explosive products and estimated the time necessary for tephra deposition in some critical areas of the island, such as, for example, the ferry dock and the helicopter pad, since they were particularly visited during the summer”. “The integrated analysis of the video surveillance data made it possible to obtain the physical parameters of the two paroxysms, such as the extension and speed of propagation of the volcanic plume, as well as to describe the eruptive dynamics in detail”, explains Elisabetta Del Bello, INGV's volcanologist and second author of the research. “Furthermore, through the images of the video surveillance cameras, the pre-eruptive conditions were parameterized, revealing that the intensity and frequency of the normal explosive activity in Stromboli underwent a sudden change about a month before the first paroxysm, coinciding with the variation of the geochemical and geophysical parameters recorded starting from the same period. This observation indicates that the 'perturbation' of the magmatic system, which culminated in the explosive events of July-August 2019, began weeks before the paroxysmal events", Elisabetta Del Bello concludes.
“Even during the paroxysmal events of 2003 and 2007, before the occurrence of the explosive events themselves, similar periods of perturbation in the ordinary activity and anomalies of geochemical and geophysical signals were recorded, thus opening interesting scenarios for the identification of precursors common to all the Stromboli's paroxysms”, says Daniele Andronicus, who concludes “We believe that through the development of a new observation and monitoring systems for the eruptive activity of Stromboli, it is also possible to provide information necessary for territorial planning in the event of a crisis, particularly during the high tourist season”.
“The research”, reports Piergiorgio Scarlato, INGV volcanologist, “was funded by the MUR as part of the funding program for projects of significant national interest PRIN 2017, and within the INGV's strategic departmental project 'UNO', concerning the eruptive activity of the Stromboli volcano”.
The research has an essentially scientific value and it is currently devoid of immediate implications regarding the aspects of civil protection.
Link to the article
Through the in-depth analysis of the data from the paroxysmal eruptions of 2019, the researchers established the hypothesis that the paroxysms of the Stromboli volcano manifest a phase of 'agitation' which can originate up to a few weeks before the event and which determines a perturbation of the magmatic system. These are the conclusions reached by the scientists of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in the study “Uncovering the eruptive patterns of the 2019 double paroxysm eruption crisis of Stromboli volcano” just published in 'Nature Communications' magazine.
Starting from the assumption that in 2019 the Stromboli volcano experienced one of the most violent eruptive crises of the last hundred years, the study - the result of the multidisciplinary collaboration of the INGV researchers of the Sections of Rome 1, Pisa and the Etneo Observatory of Catania - he studied the various aspects of Stromboli's eruptive activity in depth, with the aim of understanding the dynamics of paroxysms and identifying potential precursor signals.
"First of all, we analyzed the data on the deposits generated by the two paroxysms of 2019 thanks to the surveys carried out on the ground" comments Daniele Andronico, INGV volcanologist and first author of the research, which continues “The study focused on the dispersion of volcanic products and their textural and chemical characteristics. Through numerical simulations, we then modeled the dispersion of explosive products and estimated the times of fall in some critical areas of the island, such as, for example, the ferry dock and the helicopter runway, since they were particularly busy during the summer”.
"The integrated analysis of the video surveillance data made it possible to obtain the physical parameters of the two paroxysms, such as the extension and propagation speed of the eruptive cloud, as well as to describe the eruptive dynamics in detail", explains Elisabetta Del Bello, volcanologist at INGV and second author of the research. “Furthermore, through the images of the video surveillance cameras, the pre-eruptive conditions were parameterized, revealing that the intensity and frequency of the normal explosive activity on Stromboli underwent a sudden change about a month before the first paroxysm, coinciding with the variation of the geochemical and geophysical parameters recorded starting from the same period. This observation indicates that the 'perturbation' of the magmatic system which then culminated in the explosive events of July-August 2019, began weeks before the paroxysmal events", concludes Elisabetta Del Bello.
“Even during the paroxysmal events of 2003 and 2007, similar periods of perturbation in ordinary activity and anomalies of geochemical and geophysical signals were recorded before the occurrence of the events themselves, thus opening up interesting scenarios for the identification of precursors common to all Stromboli paroxysms”, says Daniele Andronico again, who concludes "We believe that through the development of new systems for observing and monitoring Stromboli's eruptive activity, it is also possible to offer the information necessary for territorial planning and population management in the event of a crisis, especially during the high season tourist”.
"Research", reports Piergiorgio Scarlato, INGV volcanologist, "it was financed by the MUR as part of the PRIN 2017 project financing program of significant national interest, and as part of the INGV 'UNO' departmental strategic project, concerning the eruptive activity of the Stromboli volcano".
The research has an essentially scientific value and is currently devoid of immediate implications regarding the aspects of civil protection.
Link to the article
---
Stromboli. The paroxysmal eruptions of 2019 and the identification of possible precursory signals
Analyzing an extraordinary amount of multiparametric data, INGV's researchers identified possible precursory signals of the explosive paroxysms of summer 2019 up to about a month before the event
Through an in-depth analysis of the data of the paroxysmal eruptions of 2019, the researchers have rooted the hypothesis that the paroxysms of the Stromboli volcano manifest a phase of 'destabilization' that can originate up to a few weeks before the event and that determines a perturbation of the magmatic system. These are the conclusions reached by the scientists of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in the study “Uncovering the eruptive patterns of the 2019 double paroxysm eruption crisis of Stromboli volcano”, just published in the journal 'Nature Communications'.
Starting from the fact that in 2019 the Stromboli volcano experienced one of the most violent eruptive crisis of the last hundred years, the research- resulting from the multidisciplinary collaboration of the INGV's researchers from the Sections of Rome 1, Pisa and Catania's Etna Observatory - studied the various aspects of the eruptive activity of Stromboli, with the aim of understanding the dynamics of paroxysms and identifying potential precursory signals.
“First of all, we analyzed the data of the tephra deposits generated by the two paroxysms of 2019 thanks to the surveys carried out in the field” comments Daniele Andronico, INGV's volcanologist and first author of the research, who continues “The study focused on the dispersal of volcanic products and on their textural and chemical characteristics. Through numerical simulations, we modeled the dispersal of explosive products and estimated the time necessary for tephra deposition in some critical areas of the island, such as, for example, the ferry dock and the helicopter pad, since they were particularly visited during the summer”. “The integrated analysis of the video surveillance data made it possible to obtain the physical parameters of the two paroxysms, such as the extension and speed of propagation of the volcanic plume, as well as to describe the eruptive dynamics in detail”, explains Elisabetta Del Bello, INGV's volcanologist and second author of the research. “Furthermore, through the images of the video surveillance cameras, the pre-eruptive conditions were parameterized, revealing that the intensity and frequency of the normal explosive activity in Stromboli underwent a sudden change about a month before the first paroxysm, coinciding with the variation of the geochemical and geophysical parameters recorded starting from the same period. This observation indicates that the 'perturbation' of the magmatic system, which culminated in the explosive events of July-August 2019, began weeks before the paroxysmal events", Elisabetta Del Bello concludes.
“Even during the paroxysmal events of 2003 and 2007, before the occurrence of the explosive events themselves, similar periods of perturbation in the ordinary activity and anomalies of geochemical and geophysical signals were recorded, thus opening interesting scenarios for the identification of precursors common to all the Stromboli's paroxysms”, says Daniele Andronicus, who concludes “We believe that through the development of a new observation and monitoring systems for the eruptive activity of Stromboli, it is also possible to provide information necessary for territorial planning in the event of a crisis, particularly during the high tourist season”.
“The research”, reports Piergiorgio Scarlato, INGV volcanologist, “was funded by the MUR as part of the funding program for projects of significant national interest PRIN 2017, and within the INGV's strategic departmental project 'UNO', concerning the eruptive activity of the Stromboli volcano”.
The research has an essentially scientific value and it is currently devoid of immediate implications regarding the aspects of civil protection.
Link to the article
Photo 1: The south-western flank of Stromboli affected by the fires triggered by the hot products emitted during the paroxysm of 3 July. Below you can see the tallest houses of the town of Ginostra, also partly surrounded by flames. Photo E. Del Bello. --- 1 Photo: The southwestern side of Stromboli affected by the fires triggered by the hot products emitted during the 3 July paroxysm. Below there are the upper houses of Ginostra village, some of which reached by the flames. Photo by E. Del Bello.
Photo 2: Sequence of thermal camera images from the July 3 paroxysm (SPT). --- Photo 2: Thermal image sequence of the 3 July paroxysm (from SPT camera).
Photos 3 and 4: The structure hosting the thermal monitoring camera located at Pizzo Sopra la Fossa, a few weeks before July 3 and, after the paroxysm, almost totally destroyed by the impact of the ballistic material and the shock wave. Photo D. Andronicus. --- Photo 3 and 4: The thermal camera monitoring station at Pizzo as it was a few weeks before 3 July during an INGV field survey (above) and, destroyed by ballistic fallout and shock wave after the paroxysm (below). Photos by D. Andronicus.
Photo 5: Strong Strombolian explosion rich in scoria from the cones formed in the NS sector in the days following the paroxysm of 3 July. Photo D. Andronicus. --- Photo 5: Strombolian scoria-rich explosion up to 150 m high from a cone formed in the NS sector in the days following the 3 July paroxysm. Photo by D. Andronicus.